Charles Kuffner

Houston

Contributor at Chron

Blogger at Off The Kuff Knowledge is Good

Twitter feed for the Off the Kuff blog

Featured in: Favicon

chron.com

offthekuff.com

Articles

Measles update: Hello, Montana

2 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

Put another state on the board, Johnny. Montana is the ninth U.S. state to have an active measles outbreak. The U.S. was up to 800 cases of measles nationwide on Friday. Texas is driving the high numbers, with an outbreak centered in West Texas that started nearly three months ago and is up to 597 cases. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses near the epicenter in Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.
Whiny sore loser election contest appeal denied

2 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

I didn’t even know there was an appeal. And having read the story and the opinion, there kind of wasn’t, not in any real sense. The 14th Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that “no evidence” was found to support a Republican-backed challenge of the 2022 district clerk election results. Chris Daniels was one of 21 Republican candidates who filed election contest lawsuits after the results of the 2022 Harris County midterm elections.
On immigration and the 2026 World Cup

2 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

Yeah, there are some big issues that we need to talk about. Last month, Dallas officially announced the procurement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center. It will turn downtown’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center into a “nerve center” for thousands of international journalists broadcasting dispatches on the beautiful game back to their home countries.
CityCast Houston talks to Recall Houston

3 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked before about Recall Houston and how that effort may play out, given the many obstacles that any such effort faces. I’ve been very curious to learn more about who is behind this effort and where they believe they are in moving it forward. On Monday, CityCast Houston produced an interview with one of the people behind Recall Houston, which answered some of my questions. In short, Alejandro Alegria is the person speaking on behalf of Recall Houston.
Early voting for the May elections starts today

3 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

I don’t have a written press release from the Harris County Clerk about early voting for the May 3 election to share with you, but they did send out this all-graphics email that tells you what you need to know. Basically, early voting runs from today through next Tuesday, April 29, so eight days total. Hours are 7 AM to 7 PM every day except Sunday the 27th, when it will be 12 PM to 7 PM. Check to see if you have an election to vote in by visiting the What’s on my ballot page.
More on the new women’s pro softball league

3 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

Former Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng will be the first commissioners of the new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Kim Ng’s three decades in Major League Baseball were relentless and unprecedented. Her departure was swift and unexpected. She remains, 18 months later, a sports executive like no other, still envisioning opportunities that have never before existed.
April 2025 campaign finance reports - Congress

4 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

Well, just CD18, really. I said when I posted the January 2025 reports that I was going to wait on the Congressional reports until July because there wasn’t going to be anything of interest to report on. And then Rep. Sylvester Turner passed away and we got a flock of candidates line up for the now-set-for-November special election, and I couldn’t wait that long to see what was happening. So here we are.
Nate Paul avoids prison

4 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

The whimpering end of this saga, barring anything extraordinary in the future. An Austin real estate developer who was central to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment case was sentenced on Wednesday to supervised release and a $1 million fine for bank fraud. A judge allowed Nate Paul to avoid prison time after he pleaded guilty in January to lying to a lending institution as part of a deal with federal prosecutors. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop 11 other charges against him.
Houston’s bridges are not falling down

4 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

But an assessment to see how they’d do in the event a ship crashed into them would be a good idea. Some Houston area bridges are among those that a new report says should be evaluated to determine whether they’re at risk of collapsing if hit by a vessel such as the one that caused the devastating Baltimore bridge collapse in 2024.
Weekend link dump for April 20

4 days ago | offthekuff.com | Charles Kuffner

“All in all, this is Trump’s formula for reviving stateside manufacturing: punishing tariffs on other nations, more expensive input parts for the factories and machines needed here, fewer government supports for existing facilities, an overall climate of uncertainty and distrust when it comes to safe investments and long-term contracts, and domestic industries that are neither willing nor able to do the types of work that foreign workers are trained and ready to do.” A few tips on how to...